Our Progeny
by ghostninja85
Summary: Restarting the story and editing from the beginning. Chapter 5 edited. SasuNaru NaruSasu. Alternative Universe 5 years after Naruto leaves to train with Jiraiya. See inside for full summary.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Warning: This fic will eventually contain shonen ai and possibly yaoi. There is a mention of possible rape but none occurs. SasuNaru NaruSasu Past SasuOC (barely mentioned) with a few OCs.

Our Progeny

Summary: Alternate universe diverging when Naruto comes back to Konoha from training with Jiraiya. The final confrontation with Orochimaru and Sasuke resulted in the death of Orochimaru. Akatsuki and Itachi are still at large, and Sasuke is still a missing nin, trying to kill Itachi. All of the rookie nine are jounin, as well as Gai's team. Kyuubi has merged totally with Naruto and he has full control of Kyuubi's chakra.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

telepathy

_Flashback_

_**Dreamscape**_

---.---: break/ time lapse

oooOooo: Scene change

---.---

It was just a normal B level mission in the Lightning Country. Naruto took it because it was scheduled to take at least a month, and even though he finished it in one and a half weeks, the rest of the time was spent searching for Sasuke. Baa-chan knew what Naruto was doing; long missions were the only ones Naruto would accept since the "incident".

oooOooo

_Orochimaru was dead and all of the other Konoha shinobi were scattered and confused. The only ones left were Naruto and Sasuke. It was almost exactly like 3 years ago: the two boys were facing each other on opposite sides of the waterfall. Sasuke was going to leave again and Naruto didn't want that to happen._

"_Sasuke, fight me!" _

"_No."_

"_What! You coward! FIGHT ME!"_

"_I have to do something first. I'll be back. Wait for me, dobe." _

oooOooo

Sasuke disappeared, and Naruto hadn't seen him since. He had been searching for Sasuke by a small village in the Wind Country and was currently perched on a roof quietly observing the village. Just when he was about to leave, a small group of men by an alleyway caught his eye.

"Did you think you could get away with stealing from us?" the largest of them said, "We're dangerous. Don't you recognize ninjas when you see them?"

Curious, Naruto moved so that he could get a closer look. He saw a three man team of unmarked chuunin. Cowering at their feet was a small street urchin. He couldn't have been older than 7 years old. It was difficult to tell how old the kid was because of his baggy clothing and dirty face.

"I think we're going to have to teach you a lesson eh guys?" the leader suggested with a leer on his face. Picking the kid up, he told him, "Maybe you can _earn_ some food."

Naruto's face went dark with fury. He'd always had a soft spot in his heart for children. They were always so innocent, so trusting. He'd grown up rather quickly, but he really liked playing games and having fun with them and even though he complained about all the level D missions, Naruto secretly loved the babysitting ones.

"Hey hey, what's this all about?" Naruto called out lazily, "That kid's not worth your time. Why don't you just let him go?"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" the leader shot back, "We'll do what we want when we want. You don't want to mess with us."

"Maybe not, but I can't let you hurt that kid. Why don't you just run along right now? You got your food back, and I'm sure that he won't try to steal from you again, right kid?"

"Y...Yes," the urchin replied.

"I don't think we want to leave the brat alone," the chuunin said as he raised his hand, "He deserves a beating for what he did to us."

This caused the urchin to look up at the man with fear in his eyes. Naruto caught a glimpse of them and immediately thought of his first real mission with Team 7. The boy reminded him of Haku. Before the unmarked nin could land his blow, Naruto appeared in his way and blocked his strike. Anger flashed from the bully's eyes and he instinctively went for his kunai pouch, but before he could do anything Naruto grabbed his arm with his left hand, focused chakra to his right palm and hit the chuunin with a minor rasengan. The effect was much like the first time Naruto ever saw Jiraiya perform the technique and the chuunin went flying and spinning into the alley wall. After glancing at him to make sure he was unconscious, Naruto turned to the other nin.

"Pick your friend up and get out of my sight. You don't want to see me get angry."

Naruto's eyes flashed dangerously red and shifted into the pupils of the Kyuubi. The remaining two chuunin fearfully picked their leader up and ran off, leaving Naruto alone with their intended victim.

"You okay kid? Did they hurt you?"

"No. I… I'm fine."

"Do you want something to eat? I could sure go for some ramen right about now."

The young boy hesitated for a moment before answering.

'He just saved me from those nins, and I _am_ hungry. But can I trust him? Father never trusted anyone. He's… gone now though.'

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. What's your name kid?"

"Yahiko." (1)

With that, Yahiko burst away. His speed was impressive, especially for someone who hadn't been trained as a shinobi. Naruto was caught off guard by Yahiko's flight. He thought the kid was going to accept his offer.

'I can see how he's never been caught. I guess he's never tried to steal from a ninja before. Regular villagers wouldn't be able to catch or detect him. I'd better keep an eye on him though. There's something special about this boy.'

Naruto followed him around the village until Yahiko stopped at a street near the edge of town. Yahiko entered a tiny tin and cardboard shack, but before going to sleep, he moved a few rags out of the way and lifted a hidden board from the dirt floor. Inside was a small wooden box. Yahiko looked around to make sure that no one was watching, reverently opened the box and took out a single kunai. Unlike the rest of the shack, the kunai was in perfect condition. Yahiko cradled it to his body and went to sleep.

---.---

Naruto had been standing guard on the shack for only a few hours when a sudden heavy mist descended on Yahiko's house. Instantly alert, Naruto activated his chakra and directed it to his senses quickly detecting five chakra sources.

'One of those scents smells familiar. It's a missing nin from the Hidden Mist village, so the shinobi Yahiko encountered earlier must all be missing nin. That means I don't have to hold back. I'll finish this quickly.'

Naruto tapped into his chakra and drew it into his Kyuubi armor. The mix of blue and red chakra surrounded him in the shape of the Nine-tails: a few of his "tails" were now blue, as well as the claws of his "paws". He wanted to divert attention away from Yahiko. The nins had just enough time to pause and wonder where the dangerous new chakra source was coming from before they died.

The chakra surge did not go unnoticed by Yahiko. He recognized the feeling from the times he witnessed his own father draw upon it to fight. He gripped his kunai fearfully and looked out for possible threats, but the only thing he was able to make out was a purplish blur and the death screams of four men. The blur stopped in front of him, and Yahiko couldn't bring himself to look at it.

As soon as the blur came to a stop in front of him, Yahiko noticed another third presence behind him. Before he could react, two hands shot out. One grabbed his hair and yanked him backwards. The second took his kunai, the most precious thing to him in the world, and held it to his throat.

"Take another step, and the kid's dead."

'I'm going to die,' Yahiko thought. 'Without getting stronger. Without revenge. He's going to walk away and leave me to die. He won't try to save me. No one cares about me; I'm just a useless street brat.'

Suddenly, the blur spoke.

"You touch that boy, and I will make sure you die slowly. Walk away now, and I guarantee that you can leave with your life."

"I don't think so." The nin responded, "I think that you're going to take three steps back, or he's going to be breathing out of his neck." The blur obeyed. "Now I think you're going to take those big nasty claws you have and rip out your own throat. When your body is cold and dead on the ground, I'll let this kid go."

'Now he'll run. He'll leave me like everyone else and this time I'll be dead.'

The new adrenaline in Yahiko's system gave his senses an extremely sharp focus and he was finally able to see through the haze of red and blue. It was his protector from earlier. After a few seconds he was able to remember his name: Naruto. He made eye contact with the strange man and thought he saw a flicker of emotion within Naruto's eyes.

'Is it regret? Pity? It wasn't anger. He _is_ going to leave.'

Suddenly, Naruto's fist blurred and the alley wall was splashed by his throat's aortal spray. The momentary silence was broken by the Mist Nin's cruel laughter.

"My god, that idiot really did it. Heh. That's a shame isn't it? I think I'm going to have fun with you kid." He turned Yahiko around and pressed his body against the small boy. "After that, I'm going to bleed you like a stuck pig."

Yahiko didn't hear him. The boy was lost in his own thoughts.

'He was a nice guy. He actually cared a little about a worthless street kid. He was worth ten of me and he killed himself.'

A rough shake brought the boy to reality, and he looked up at his captor. There was a terrible glint in the man's eyes. Yahiko froze up, and a horrible terror took hold of his body. He didn't know what was going to happen next, but he knew that it would be horrendous.

Before anything could happen, the Mist Nin's head exploded and was replaced by a purple orb of rapidly spinning chakra. (2) The hand it was attached to belonged to Naruto.

"How are you alive?!!" Yahiko asked. "I thought that you…" Yahiko glanced at the corpse on the ground and his eyes widened when it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"It was a shadow clone. I knew there was one more, so I approached you with a decoy. Are you alright kid?"

Yahiko responded by wrapping his arms tightly around Naruto. "I thought you were dead. That you had wasted your life protecting me. Are… are you an angel? Are you here to protect me?"

"Kid, I'm no angel. Kinda the opposite."

Yahiko locked eyes with Naruto once more, and Naruto's eyes went wide with the memories they evoked.

'They look so similar. They could be mine when I was a kid, or Neji's, Gaara's, Haku's… That façade hiding a scared little kid. He even looks a bit like Sasuke. It's hard to tell under all the dirt.'

---.---

_A young blond boy looks up with hope in his eyes. Hope that maybe **this **grownup will be different. His eyes aren't as cold as everyone else's and he even looks friendly. There is something special in Iruka's eyes. When the young adult (teenager really) offers his hand, Naruto accepts it._

---.---

'Is this how Iruka felt? I can't just leave the kid here.'

"I'm going to leave this village. You wanna come?"

Yahiko nodded and went back into his shack. He picked up his kunai, cleaned it and put it back into his box. After coming out, he spoke again.

"I'm ready."

"OK kid. We're going to Konoha."

(1) A personal homage to Kenshin.

(2) The blue and red chakras move so rapidly that it appears as if they mix and are purple.

TBC…

Next time: The journey to Konoha, the village's reaction to Naruto's new ward and a look at what Sasuke's up to.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Warning: This fic will eventually contain shonen ai and possibly yaoi. A bit of gore in this chapter as well. SasuNaru NaruSasu Past SasuOC (barely mentioned) There is also one major OC and a few minor OCs in the future.

Future chapters will come about once a week as long as I can keep them going.

Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Flames will be ignored.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

_Flashback_

---.---: break/ time lapse

oooOooo: Scene change

Our Progeny

Summary: Set 5 years in the future. Naruto comes across a young boy while on a mission and takes him in. Who is this boy and what does he have to do with Naruto and Sasuke?

---.---

The next day Naruto and Yahiko stopped at a stream to clean up. There was still a bit of blood on Yahiko's clothes from the Mist Nin and he was covered in dirt anyway. Naruto on the other hand was all sweaty from the last few days. His Kyuubi armor protected him from the blood splatter of his enemies, but he needed a bath as well.

While washing up, Naruto was finally able to get a good look at his young companion. Yahiko had medium length raven black hair, but when the light caught it a certain way, you could see a few very dark blue highlights. His eyes were an extremely bright blue, and although his build was skinny, he still had a little baby fat left on his face. There was an air of innocence about him, but there was an underlying sadness and maturity lying underneath the surface. Naruto might not have been able to see it if he hadn't grown up with those same feelings. Yahiko's skin was pale, but there were a few hints that he might actually be able to tan after a little time in the sun.

When the boy turned around, Naruto was saddened but not surprised to see a long dark scar across Yahiko's back right below his shoulder blades. There were lighter faded scars on the boy's body as well. Naruto was curious, but he didn't want to press Yahiko too quickly.

'Hopefully he'll trust me enough to tell me about them soon.' thought Naruto, 'but if it takes him some time, I don't really mind. I'm not eager to reveal my secrets any time soon either.'

Yahiko observed Naruto in the stream as well. Naruto had sun-kissed blond hair with red highlights randomly situated here and there. He was around six feet tall with a wrestler's build, tan skin, and there was the faintest hint of three whisker-like scars on each of his cheeks. Whenever Naruto smiled Yahiko noticed that his canines were just barely longer and sharper than normal, and Yahiko also remembered that when Naruto saved him, the scars on his face widened and his canines and nails lengthened and sharpened. Even though Naruto's power had saved his life, Yahiko was still scared by it. Power was dangerous.

'Father… I mean that man said that power was used over the weak because they could do nothing about it. Naruto has so much power, and I'm so weak…'

After they finished dressing, Naruto evaluated the condition of Yahiko's clothes. They were in horrible condition and the kid had no extra outfits because the only things he had brought with him were the clothes on his back and the box.

"Alright, tomorrow we're going to be coming across a Konoha allied village called Storm's Edge." Naruto stated, "We're going to need to buy you equipment for our journey since it might take us a few days to get back home."

They spent the rest of the day walking towards the village. Neither of them spoke, but Naruto noticed that Yahiko would occasionally glance at him with something like hope in his eyes.

oooOooo

His time with the snake-nin had been well spent- Orochimaru was strong and he had much to teach his new protégé. The discovery however, had been made thirteen months into training and had actually come from one of the snakes Sasuke had learned to summon. Manda was still extremely pissed off at Orochimaru and told one of his offspring to reveal the Sannin's plan. Sasuke continued to learn, but began plotting to escape and/or how to kill the Snake. He trained like a man possessed and was able to find another level of dedication when he heard that Naruto was training under Jiraiya.

It wasn't enough.

Eighteen months after living in the Hidden Sound Village, Sasuke met Danah. (1) She had bright blue hair and the second-bluest eyes Sasuke had ever seen. She liked ramen, and was always ready to pull a prank. He fell in love with her by the end of the second month they met and three weeks after they started going out, Danah told him that she was pregnant. He proposed to her four days later.

'Eight months later, **HE **came. He stole my family from me for the second time in my life. My young son was never born, and I was never able to even bury Danah properly.'

---.---

'_One day when I was training with Orochimaru, the general alarm went off. The Snake ordered me to my room. He obviously didn't want his future vessel in any danger. When I arrived at our apartment, I immediately knew that something was wrong. Danah didn't come and greet me at the door and I could smell blood in the air. Itachi had left me a gift. A letter and… something else.'_

_---.---_

_Dear Brother._

_You must learn to hate me even more. I am afraid that this love you have is making you weak. The will to protect others is a character flaw, and unbecoming of a shinobi. I've decided that you need help, and it is I that will give it to you._

_You can attempt to follow me and save your woman, but you will fail. Remember brother: You will only defeat me if you hate me more than anything else in existence._

_Itachi_

_PS I left you a little gift to help you remember what you have lost._

_---.---_

_Sasuke then saw where the smell of blood was coming from. Danah's ring finger was lying on the windowsill where Itachi had escaped. The Uchiha family matrimonial ring was still attached to it. Sasuke's first reaction was to almost puke. He'd seen much death in his life, but Danah was different. She was innocent, and he loved her. Immediately afterwards the only emotion he felt was anger. His eyes flashed with the Sharingan and he flew out of the window._

_He escaped from the Sound compound and began to frantically search for his fiancé. He was always so close… so close but one step behind Itachi. Three weeks of this cat and mouse game passed until he finally found her. _

_He can still remember the events perfectly._

'_I kicked the apartment door open, my senses on high alert. I couldn't sense Itachi's chakra, but you could never be too careful with him. My eyes darted around the room, memorizing and analyzing my surroundings. It was a small one room apartment and lying on the kitchen table was another note. It was the first one he had written since the start of this fiasco.'_

_---.---_

_Dear brother,_

_The chase is over. I just want you to know that your woman didn't die easily. It is amazing what one can do with a series of minor fire and ice jutsus. You won't find me again until your hate grows and your strength multiplies._

_Itachi_

_PS Check the freezer._

_---.---_

_The only thing inside the freezer was a 1.5 ft tall block of ice. Danah's head was suspended in the middle of the block, and there was a look of horror and immense pain on her face. There were burn marks on her neck instead of a clean cut. Itachi must have burned her slowly and then froze the burned areas. It could have taken her hours or days to die. His son must have died near the beginning of the torture._

---.---

This was why he couldn't go back to Konoha. Why he went back to Orochimaru instead. As long as Itachi was alive, anyone he cared about was in danger. The rookie nine, Iruka, Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto were all in danger.

'Especially Naruto. If Itachi ever found out… that's why I can't go back yet.'

A bird chirped in the forest, and Sasuke was knocked out of his melancholy reverie. He had been unconsciously fingering the Uchiha ring. He stopped, put the ring away and focused. The hunt for Itachi continued.

oooOooo

As soon as Naruto and Yahiko arrived at Storm's Edge, they went to the shopping district to buy Yahiko some equipment. After buying him some standard clothes and a bedroll, they went to the local ninja shop.

"Hey kid, do you know anything about ninjas?" asked Naruto.

Yahiko looked up from the shuriken he was examining through a glass display case.

"I know that they're powerful and that you're a really strong one," he said.

"Heh heh. Well, I'm going to become the greatest Hokage in the history of Konoha. But that's not the point. I think that you have the ability to become a ninja. You move fast enough to become one, and it looks like you're familiar with a bit of our equipment."

Yahiko stiffened at Naruto's last remark. Sensing this, Naruto decided to back off a little.

"You know, I could train you a bit… if you want."

"Really?"

Yahiko's eyes perked up but then narrowed in suspicion.

"Why are you helping me? No one's ever helped me before."

"Ummm…"

Naruto moved his hands behind his head and rubbed his hair a bit nervously.

"What do you really want?" accused Yahiko as he shrank away from Naruto.

"Why should I trust you?"

Yahiko's eyes shifted from side to side as if looking for an escape route.

Naruto realized what was happening and immediately banished his own doubt and feelings of vulnerability.

"Because you remind me of me!" the man exclaimed as tears fell from his face. "I grew up alone, without anyone. I… I would have given anything to have someone help me. I know it's hard to trust people. I understand what it's like. I'm going to buy you the things you'll need to become a ninja. If you don't want to trust me then you can walk away. I… I'll understand but please… please stay."

Naruto wiped his eyes and left to buy Yahiko some standard ninja gear: a kunai holster, shuriken containers, extra kunai and shuriken, and a few training outfits. When he returned he was relieved to find Yahiko right where he left him.

The boy was staring at the ground, crying. Naruto walked up and lifted Yahiko's chin to make eye contact. Yahiko's face lit up and he wrapped his arms around Naruto in a hug. Naruto draped an arm over Yahiko and squeezed back. After a few moments, a growl broke the silence.

"You hungry?" Naruto asked.

Yahiko nodded.

"Have you ever eaten ramen?"

"No."

"Lets go get some then. You have no idea what you're missing."

After much ceremony and many ramen endorsements, Yahiko finally tasted Naruto's favorite food. He did like it and when Naruto and Yahiko finished eating (eight and two bowls respectively) they set out once more for Konoha.

---.---

Naruto had decided to start Yahiko's physical training during the journey to Konoha. They worked on balance and stamina by running along the tops of the trees. Yahiko's natural speed helped him here; it allowed him to compensate for his lack of chakra knowledge. Naruto however was always there to offer pointers and steady Yahiko whenever he was about to slip. It was gestures like these that helped Yahiko decide that he could trust Naruto.

'It's the smiles he gives me whenever our eyes lock. Or the times he's there to keep me from breaking my neck after I miss my footing. Then there was the time he helped me with the cuts on my side from that thorny tree branch.'

---.---

"_You know kid; you have to be careful about stray branches in your way. A ninja must always see underneath the underneath. One of the meanings of this is you have to be aware of your surroundings."_

"_What are the other meanings Sensei?_

_Naruto smiled and replied, "You're going to have to discover the answers to that for yourself. And don't call me sensei. It makes me feel old. Just call me Naruto."_

---.---

After that, Naruto had carefully tended to each of his cuts, and gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze.

'I guess it's those actions that I treasure the most: the little physical gestures that show he cares for me. Father was always so cold. To me and to everyone. Nothing I ever did was good enough for him. If I hurt myself, he never helped me. And his punishments…' Yahiko shuddered, 'I'm glad he's gone. If he hadn't of abandoned me, I never would have met Naruto.'

---.---

Naruto stopped to make camp a little early that day. He could see that Yahiko was tired because of the training they had done.

'Yahiko has been quiet ever since we started traveling again.' Naruto thought, 'I wonder what he's thinking about? Maybe if I open up to him he'll decide to talk to me.

After a quick stealth lesson while hunting rabbits, the two companions settled down while their stew cooked.

'Now's as good a time as any,' Naruto thought.

"Hey kid, how old are you?"

"I'm not sure," Yahiko stated. "What's the date? I could only tell seasons while living alone."

"It's… ummm, I'm actually not sure. Some time in the middle of April though."

"Well, I'm turning five on May 7th. Why do you want to know?"

"Just curious," Naruto shrugged. "How long have you been on your own?"

Yahiko paused for a bit after this question, "Since… I was three and a half. My… father abandoned me at the village you found me in. He was a ninja like you."

'Interesting,' thought Naruto. "What about your mother?"

"I… never knew her."

Yahiko subconsciously grabbed a hold of his box.

"She died when she gave birth to me."

"Oh… Well, I never knew my parents either. I've been an orphan my entire life. In fact, if it hadn't of been for the kindness of the Sandaime: the third Hokage, I would have lived on the streets also."

Naruto paused for a bit.

"Listen Yahiko… there's something I need to tell you about my past. You might not like it much, but we're going to arrive at Konoha tomorrow and you deserve to know."

Naruto took a deep breath to summon the courage to tell Yahiko about his life.

"Twenty years ago, the Kyuubi, a nine-tailed demon fox attacked my village. Many lives were lost and it was extremely hard to injure, let alone kill. Finally, the Yondaime used a forbidden jutsu to seal the demon within a child. I was that child. I was shunned all my life, and it's taken me years to gain the respect of the ninja community. The villagers have some respect for me because of my achievements, but they still distrust me. A few of them outright hate me. I… I hope that this doesn't make you lose trust in me, but I understand if it does."

Yahiko froze in shock and fear.

'Father mentioned the Kyuubi vessel a few times. He wants the Kyuubi's power. He's going to be back. I'm not free from him. I'll never be free from him.'

Naruto had observed the fear in Yahiko's eyes and retreated to his bedroll. It pained him to think that the relationship that they'd built up over the last few days was now broken.

'I really care for him and I hoped that maybe I would be able to look after him in Konoha. He's not going to want me anywhere near him now.' sigh 'Well, he'll be rid of me tomorrow. I'll give him to baa-chan and she can set him up with a guardian.'

After recovering from his shock, Yahiko noticed that Naruto had disappeared.

'He probably thinks I hate him or that I'm afraid of him. I'd better go in and tell him that nothing has changed. He's still my guardian angel.'

Yahiko burst into their tent and saw that Naruto was "asleep".

'He must be trying to avoid talking to me. I'm going to talk to him and explain how I feel.'

"Naruto, I know you think that I hate you right now, but I don't. It's just that, HE used to talk about the Kyuubi occasionally. He's going to come for you soon, and I was afraid because that means I'm going to see him again."

Naruto sat up and looked at Yahiko with a mixture of relief and curiosity.

"Who?"

Yahiko responded to the question with a hard hug. "I don't want to talk about him anymore. I don't like talking about him."

Naruto smiled and ruffled Yahiko's hair.

"OK kid. Let's go eat our stew and go to sleep. It's late and we're waking up early tomorrow."

'Don't worry kid.' Naruto added to himself, 'I'll protect you with my life. No one will harm you while I'm around.'

Some time in the middle of the night Yahiko rolled over and snuggled up to Naruto. Naruto draped an arm protectively over Yahiko, and they stayed in that position until the morning.

---.---

Naruto was the first to wake up the next morning and carefully got up to prepare breakfast. As soon as it was cooking, he returned to the tent to wake Yahiko. Yahiko woke up with a little difficulty and they ate and prepared to leave.

'Yahiko is definitely not a morning person,' Naruto observed to himself. 'His hair is all messy and he's acting pretty grumpy.'

"Come on kid. If we leave now we'll get to Konoha in 5 hours.

Yahiko's only reply was a grunt, "Hn."

"Hahahahaha," Naruto laughed. He was totally unfazed by Yahiko's death glare. He'd grown up with Sasuke after all.

oooOooo

The guards at the gate didn't give Naruto much trouble, even though he brought a guest without travel papers. Especially since Shikamaru was on supervisor duty. After the guards were able to snap him out of his daydreaming (Naruto suggested they yell "INO" and "TEMARI" dangerously) he took one look at what the "problem" was and just waved them through.

"It's far too troublesome to listen to you explain," he drawled. "Just go to Tsunade-sama and explain it to her."

"Thanks Shikamaru," Naruto replied, "I'll go see her now."

Yahiko was strangely quiet through the entire confrontation.

Naruto went straight to the Hokage Tower and casually strolled into Tsunade's office.

"Baa-chan, I completed my mission. Here's my mission report."

"Naruto!" Tsunade yelled, "Where the hell were you? You're 2 days late!"

"Well… heh," Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously, "I kinda came across a… complication. Let me introduce you to Yahiko."

Naruto moved aside to allow Tsunade to look at the boy, who was currently glaring at her.

'Who the hell does this woman think she is?' Yahiko seethed, 'Naruto doesn't deserve to get yelled at.'

"Tsunade baa-chan, Yahiko. Yahiko, Tsunade baa-chan. She also happens to be the Hokage."

When Yahiko found out who she was, he moved closer to Naruto and grabbed for his hand.

"What's up with the mini brat?" She asked.

"He's a former street urchin from a village in the lightning country," Naruto stated, "I saved him from a bunch of missing nin and decided to bring him to Konoha. I want you to grant him Konoha citizenship. He's going to be living with me."

"Why should I do that?" she shot back.

"Because he has no where else to go!" Naruto argued passionately, "He's all alone in the world with no one to care for him. Someone needs to help him!"

Naruto's eyes had always been windows to his soul and this instant was no different. Tsunade saw the pleading within them.

'He must see himself in the boy,' Tsunade thought. 'It doesn't seem like he's doing this without thinking about the consequences, and it looks like he really wants guardianship over the boy.'

"OK," she stated, "I just hope you know what you're doing."

The squeezing on Naruto's hand let up slightly, but Yahiko still refused to say a word.

"Thanks baa-chan. Don't worry, I can handle the responsibility."

After his response, Naruto left as quickly as possible. He didn't want Tsunade to suddenly change her mind.

Outside of the Hokage Tower, both Tsunade and Naruto had the same thought:

'I wonder what the others are going to think?'

TBC

(1) A little allusion to "Flower of Konoha" a wonderful fic. Give it a read. You won't be disappointed.

Next time: The shinobi and the villagers' reaction to Yahiko, more Sasuke and further information about Yahiko's past.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Warning: This fic will eventually contain shonen ai and possibly yaoi. SasuNaru NaruSasu past SasuOC (barely mentioned) There is also one major OC and a few minor OCs in the future.

Updates until Chapter 12 will come at least once a week as I edit and change previous chapters. We'll see where it goes from there.

Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Flames will be ignored.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

_Flashback_

---.---: break/ time lapse

oooOooo: Scene change

Our Progeny

Summary: Set 5 years in the future. Naruto comes across a young boy while on a mission and takes him in. Who is this boy and what does he have to do with Naruto and Sasuke?

---.---

_Outside of the Hokage Tower, both Tsunade and Naruto had the same thought:_

'_I wonder what the others are going to think?'_

---.---

Naruto's train of thought was broken by a loud rumble and his eyes darted to the boy on his right. Yahiko had a worried look on his face.

"You hungry kid?" Naruto asked.

Yahiko nodded and looked down at the ground.

'He's going to yell at me now. Grownups always yell if you tell them you're hungry and Father would punish me if I complained.'

Yahiko's unresponsiveness concerned Naruto, but he decided to press on.

"I'm going to treat you to the best ramen in the entire world. Ichiraku has the greatest ramen ever."

The blonde shinobi led the way and Yahiko followed.

When Naruto and Yahiko arrived at Ichiraku, they took a seat. Yahiko decided to let Naruto order since he didn't want to order anything too expensive.

"Hey Pops," Naruto said, "We're celebrating, so give me two of your specialty ramen dishes."

"Sure Naruto, coming right up," the owner replied. "Who's that young man you're sitting next to?"

"This is Yahiko. He's staying with me right now and he's only had ramen once in his life. He likes it so I've decided to treat him to the best."

Yahiko blushed a bit and shifted slightly closer to Naruto.

'I wonder why he's being so shy?' the blonde wondered.

He didn't have much time to reflect because the food was ready. Yahiko's eyes widened in awe when he saw Ichiraku's specialty dish. He'd never seen a nicer and fancier bowl of food in his life and he bet it tasted great.

'It's probably really expensive,' the boy thought. 'Naruto doesn't need to buy me a lot of stuff. I'd be happy with a rice bowl.'

"Don't worry about the price kid." Naruto stated. "Even though 20 bucks is a lot for a bowl of ramen, I have the money. The mission I was on paid pretty well and we're celebrating. You're easily worth a hell of a lot more than 20 bucks." (1)

The blonde decided to lead by example and attacked his bowl. Yahiko followed him and they finished their meal in a silence broken only by the slurping of noodles.

After they finished eating, Naruto walked Yahiko to his house. He'd been appointed guardian of the Uchiha Estates after the "incident" so they had to walk to the outskirts of Konoha. Their journey did not go unnoticed by the villagers and Naruto's heightened senses were able to pick up the crowd's murmurings.

"Who's that child with the demon?"

"I heard that the demon's looking after him."

"Really? I bet it's out of guilt. The demon probably murdered the child's parents."

"I agree. Either that or it's just taking the child in because of duty. Everyone knows that the demon could never care for someone else."

Yahiko stiffened at the increasingly hostile tone that the crowd's muttering was taking. This time however, he didn't move closer to Naruto.

'Does he really want me here? Am I a burden?' Yahiko thought.

Once again Naruto noticed Yahiko's strange behavior and once again his train of thought was interrupted. They arrived at the Uchiha mansion and Naruto let them in.

"Come on kid, I'll show you your new room," Naruto stated. He turned around and started heading up the stairs.

'He never uses my name,' Yahiko worried. 'I used to think that it was a nice nickname, but could it be that he doesn't like me? Does he call me "kid" so that he won't grow to like me?'

Yahiko followed Naruto into one of the many rooms in a long hallway, but all of his thoughts were instantly forgotten when a tall silver-haired ninja with a face mask and a forehead protector over one eye materialized in the room.

"Yo," the ninja said. It was addressed to Naruto but his eye quickly refocused on Yahiko.

"Kakashi, what the hell are you doing here?" Naruto asked. "You can't just go barging into people's houses, especially since this is Yahiko's room now."

"I can't visit my former student?" Kakashi asked in a (fake) offended tone. "This is just a friendly post-mission visit. And who's Yahiko?"

"This is Yahiko. Yahiko this is Kakashi- a former sensei of mine."

"Hello Yahiko," Kakashi stated.

He extended his hand in greeting but Yahiko didn't take it.

"Hey kid, what's the matter?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi took a step closer to Yahiko, who in turn took one step back. Kakashi's eye crinkled into a smile, but when he took one more step forward, Yahiko bolted.

Naruto frowned.

"I'm going to go see what's bothering him. I'll talk to you later Kakashi."

"Alright," Kakashi replied, "I'll…" He didn't bother finishing his sentence. Naruto had already left the room.

oooOooo

After searching for a while, Naruto found Yahiko sitting on the edge of the dock in the small pond next to the Uchiha mansion. He silently sat down next to him.

"What's wrong kid?"

Yahiko was startled and started to dart away again but before he could leave, Naruto grabbed a hold of his arm. As soon as he felt contact, Yahiko flinched and closed his eyes as if he were waiting for a blow.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked in a worried tone, "I'm not going to hit you buddy, I just want to talk. Why did you run away? Kakashi wasn't going to hurt you or anything."

Yahiko's only answer was silence.

"We really need to talk this out kid, and we're not leaving this dock until we do."

After a few moments, Yahiko sat back down. He took a deep breath and whispered so softly that Naruto had to rely on his Kyuubi senses to hear it.

"Do you really want me here?"

"What?" Naruto practically yelled. "What kind of question is that?"

"Do you?"

"Of course I do. I wouldn't have brought you here if I didn't. Why do you wanna know?"

"I heard the villagers talking." Yahiko said, lowering his voice once more.

"Oh," Naruto muttered quietly. "Don't… don't pay any attention to them. That's what I do. Besides, they don't know what they're talking about. I told you that I'd take care of you because I DO care about you. I don't ever go back on my word. That is my ninja way."

Naruto pulled Yahiko in for a hug.

"Don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise buddy. I'll always be there for you."

Yahiko returned the hug, but remained silent. After a few minutes, he spoke:

"I… I've never told anyone about my past before but… I think I can trust you. Can I trust you?"

Yahiko looked up at Naruto and their eyes met. Naruto's eyes began to water and instead of answering; the blonde nin nodded his head and gave the boy a gentle squeeze.

"I'm going to… to tell you the part that has to do with _him_."

Yahiko took a deep breath and began.

"I had traveled with _him_… my father… for as long as I could remember. I never knew my mother, so one day I asked him where she was. He must have been in a good mood that day because he actually answered."

---.---

"_Father, why don't I have a mother?" A younger version of Yahiko asks a tall black haired man._

"_Your mother is dead," the man responded. "Right when she was about to die, she took a kunai and cut open her belly to save you. The scar on your back is from the cut you received while your mother was giving birth to you."_

"_How did she die?" Yahiko asked._

"_We're not going to speak about that. Never bring this subject up again."_

---.---

"The next time I mentioned it, he punished me." Yahiko shuddered.

"What did he do?" Naruto asked after a moment of silence.

Yahiko ignored him and instead continued his story.

"Shortly afterwards, he abandoned me,"

---.---

"_Father, where are you going?"_

"_Away," the man says harshly, "Don't try to follow me."_

"_But Father…"_

"_Silence!" the man orders. His eyes flash red dangerously and Yahiko shuts his mouth._

"_Let me tell you the truth about your mother. I killed her. That bitch escaped for a moment and saved your miserable life. I don't know why I kept you alive. Perhaps I was hoping you would become useful in the future. I was wrong, and it looks like you're going to be very similar to my sniveling younger brother."_

"_This," he says holding up a kunai, "was the kunai your mother used when she brought your miserable existence into being. You're too weak to kill, but perhaps you have the guts to kill yourself. However, before I give you this, I have one more thing for you."_

_The man's eyes flash, and images of his mother's death flash through Yahiko's mind until he passes out. When he awakens, his father is gone. All that remains is the box with the lone kunai inside._

---.---

"I kept the kunai because it was the only thing I had left from my mother," Yahiko whispered. "It's all I have of her."

He looked up at Naruto's eyes and saw them widen in shock. The boy panicked and tried to escape again but Naruto held on and pulled the boy closer to keep him from escaping. Yahiko tensed and finally relaxed when he realized that he was in a tight hug.

"It's okay buddy," Naruto said soothingly. "Nothing about your past will make me abandon you. We're going to train so that you can protect yourself and now that you're a Konoha citizen, the entire shinobi community will lay down their lives to protect you."

Yahiko looked up at Naruto.

"There's more. My father… he said that I wasn't even his real son. I don't _know_ who my real father is. The only reason I refer to him as my father is that he always forced me to call him that. He killed my mother after she saved my life. And… his name is really important… he was Uchiha It…"

"I know buddy," Naruto interrupted. "I've met him and he's always wanted the Kyuubi's power but it's too late now, I've completely merged with the demon. Did… did Itachi use the Mangekyou Sharingan on you often?"

"He only used it that one time... Most of the time he'd use regular genjitsu to punish me.

Yahiko paused for another moment and then continued in a voice cracked with emotion.

"That's all I wanna talk about now. I'm so happy that you didn't abandon me like everyone else."

They stayed on the dock in a comfortable silence. After a while, Naruto decided to break the somber mood.

"Okay, enough of this sad stuff. Come with me buddy. I want you to meet someone, but we have to prepare first."

After leading them back into the Uchiha Mansion, Naruto gave Yahiko a few instructions before they left.

"Take a really good bath and then get dressed. I'm going to go hunting because it'll help if we bring a gift."

When Yahiko got out of the shower, Naruto was already back. There was a large salmon and a rabbit on the table.

Yahiko ran up to Naruto and grabbed him in a hug, knocking the blonde nin into a chair.

"Ooff. What's this for?" Naruto asked with a smile.

Yahiko muffled back a response through Naruto's jacket.

"I was afraid you weren't coming back."

Naruto didn't know what to say so he just ruffled Yahiko's hair.

"You ready to go?"

Yahiko nodded his head.

"Here," Naruto said after handing an old orange jacket to Yahiko. "Wear that. It still has a little of my scent on it and she'll realize you are with me."

Yahiko was curious, but did what he was told.

"Who are we meeting? And why do we have to be careful?" he asked.

"We're meeting a friend of mine," Naruto replied. "She isn't very trusting but I think she'll like you. She also gave birth six weeks ago so we're going to have to work extra hard to earn her confidence. Let's go meet her now."

Naruto led them deep into the woods. There was no obvious trail to follow, and Yahiko was hopelessly lost after only a few minutes. After a bit Naruto stopped and dropped to a knee.

"Do you want a shoulder ride?" he asked. "The area ahead is moderately trapped and we'll make better time if I can carry you.

Yahiko didn't bother to answer and eagerly scrambled up on Naruto's shoulders. Once the boy was secure, Naruto began to move around the forest in zigzags to avoid the traps. Ten minutes later, the duo came to a stop in front of an impassable copse of trees.

"Are we there yet?" Yahiko asked.

"Just watch."

Naruto gently dropped Yahiko to his side and touched one of the wooden knobs on the oldest center tree. He released a surge of chakra and the trees parted to reveal a small clearing and a fox's den. There were three small red kits playing with an even smaller black kit in the clearing. Yahiko and Naruto's presence startled the kits and they ran inside.

"I'll be right back." Naruto said and walked into the den with his gifts. After a short while, Yahiko heard him yell out, "OK buddy, you can come in now."

Yahiko carefully approached the den. When he went in, he saw the four cubs playing tag with each other on top of Naruto. When they saw Yahiko again, they darted out of sight. Two of them hid behind their mother and the other two hid behind Naruto.

"Kitsune, I'd like you to meet Yahiko," Naruto said. "Yahiko, I'd like you to meet 'Sune."

"Alright buddy," Naruto instructed, "approach 'Sune slowly and offer your palm to her so she can sniff it. She already knows I'm taking care of you because you smell similar to me."

Before Yahiko could approach 'Sune, the smallest kit poked his head out from behind his mother. Yahiko paused, and before he could do anything, the kit darted out and stopped right before Yahiko with a curious expression on his face.

'Sune barked warningly, but the kit only glanced back at her quickly before diverting his attention to Yahiko again.

Yahiko timidly extended his hand towards the kit and offered it to him to sniff. The kit gave it a whiff, then gently grabbed Yahiko's hand in its mouth and dragged him to his mother.

"Hey!" Yahiko exclaimed. The biting hold didn't hurt, but it had startled him.

Once they reached 'Sune, the kit jumped up onto Yahiko's head and peered down at his mother. 'Sune examined Yahiko and her kit with weirdly intelligent eyes before giving a yip of approval. As soon as it was given the other three fox kits tackled Yahiko. Giggling, Yahiko allowed them to knock him to the ground.

After about thirty minutes, Naruto told Yahiko that they needed to leave. When Yahiko got up, the three bigger kits just continued playing amongst themselves but the smallest one kept with Yahiko.

"It seems like he really likes you buddy," Naruto observed. "Why don't you give him a name?"

"Well…" Yahiko thought out loud, "He's a kittling right? What about a name like that? How about Ling? Or Link? I like Link."

"Link it is then," Naruto stated.

Link started to whine when he realized that Yahiko was going to leave.

"Don't worry little guy," Yahiko said as he scratched behind Link's ear. "I'll be back."

This seemed to calm him down and Link stopped crying. He sat down on his hind legs and watched as Yahiko and Naruto left.

After Naruto showed Yahiko how to reseal the clearing, Yahiko hugged Naruto and thanked him for cheering him up.

"Why are they hidden so deeply in the forest?"

"After the Kyuubi attacked Konoha, foxes were hunted almost to extinction." Naruto explained. "That is the only family of foxes left in Konoha and I feel like it's partially my fault that they are hunted, so I take care of them."

"What does stink-shun mean? Something smelly?"

"No chuckle. It means that a type of animal dies and you can't find them anywhere."

"Oh. Where is their father?"

"He's probably out hunting but now that you mention it I haven't seen Sune's mate in a week or so…"

Naruto rubbed his chin for a moment in thought and then shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know where he is. It's time for us to train now, so we have to head back to the house in order to get your equipment but from now on, I don't want you to go anywhere without your ninja gear."

Yahiko nodded and they set out.

oooOooo

Sakura entered the Yamanaka flower shop as she did every week to hear the current village gossip.

"Hey Sakura, did you hear about the kid Naruto brought back to Konoha?" Ino asked.

"What?! Naruto's taking care of a kid? He's barely an adult himself!" scoffed Sakura.

"I know, it's the talk of the village," Ino elaborated. "The only ninja's that have seen the kid are Shikamaru and Kakashi. Shikamaru is too lazy to explain what the kid looks like and Kakashi has been surprisingly quiet about it. I wanna meet the kid. Do you have any ideas?"

Sakura pondered for a moment before snapping her fingers.

"Why don't we have a party?" Sakura suggested. "We can hold a surprise party later this week. Whenever Naruto doesn't have a mission he disappears to the forest to train almost all morning. We can set up the party at the Uchiha mansion and ambush him when he gets back. We'll invite everyone and it'll be a lot of fun."

They started to make plans, and secretly sent out invitations.

oooOooo

Today would make it exactly 10 years. Ten years from the first time he ever noticed Naruto. He had been too sheltered and happy before his family's murder to pay attention to the "demon" child, but after the incident, he finally noticed the other orphan his age in Konoha. There was a connection between them but Sasuke had denied it for so many years.

'I guess I'm still denying it. I wouldn't let Naruto bring me back twice in a row and I suppose I'm afraid that if I do go back, I won't be able to leave… I have to go back this year. I haven't paid my respects to my family at our shrine in eight years, and they deserve more respect than that. I'll just get in and out and no one will even know I was there.'

The decision gave Sasuke some concrete purpose in his actions and he started towards Konoha.

TBC…

(1) I suppose now is a good time to mention this. I'm not familiar with Japanese currency so I'm going to stick to US amounts. You'll also notice that I stay away from Japanese "fan language'. I don't speak Japanese so its use will be very limited within this story. I will use it for honorifics and nicknames because it's easier that way. I will also use it occasionally in jutsus and such. Other than that, I won't use it for random phrases like "please" and "thank you".

Next time: The party, Sasuke comes back home, and a cliffhanger.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Warning: This fic will eventually contain shonen ai and possibly yaoi. Gore in this chapter as well. SasuNaru, NaruSasu, past SasuOC (barely mentioned). There is also one major OC and a few minor OCs in the future.

Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Flames will be ignored.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter. I will try to respond to the longer reviews with e-mails. My apologies if I skipped you by accident.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

_Flashback_

---.---: break/ time lapse

oooOooo: Scene change

Our Progeny

Summary: Set 5 years in the future. Naruto comes across a young boy while on a mission and takes him in. Who is this boy and what does he have to do with Naruto and Sasuke?

---.---

The next couple of days were spent setting up a routine: Naruto and Yahiko would wake up at the crack of dawn in order to train, and since Naruto was never very good with book learning most of the training was practical. The blonde figured that Iruka-sensei would teach Yahiko the other stuff at the academy.

Next, Naruto would go off to perform a quick one day mission and Yahiko would spend the rest of the day between the house and the fox glade. After a few lessons on trap detection and studying the other trap locations, Yahiko was able to travel on his own.

When Naruto finished his mission they would eat ramen either at home or Ichiraku and get ready for bed. Yahiko had asked for a "ninja story" the first night he slept in his new room and Naruto had found himself telling the boy about his first missions. It was nostalgic and a bit therapeutic to recall the past. After Yahiko fell asleep, Naruto would retire to his own bed and they would start again the next day.

oooOooo

After a week of training and missions, Naruto decided to take a day off to relax and bond more with Yahiko. He would take the boy into the woods for some extensive training.

'I might even teach him Kage Bunshin no Jutsu,' Naruto thought. 'He knows all the basics like Bunshin, Henge, and Kawarimi no Jutsu… Actually, scratch that,' Naruto snickered. "I'm going to go over chakra control with him. We'll do tree and water walking. Maybe after that I'll teach him the Kage Bunshin.'

---.---

As soon as Naruto and Yahiko left Sakura, Ino and Shikamaru snuck into the Uchiha mansion and began to set up for the party. Sakura had casually asked Tsunade when Naruto's next day off would be at the hospital and after finding out, Ino had nagged Shikamaru into helping them set up.

oooOooo

Back in the forest, Yahiko was having a little trouble with tree climbing. Naruto snickered and Link just watched curiously and barked every time Yahiko fell.

After a particularly loud yell of frustration, Naruto decided to offer a little more advice than "concentrate your chakra so that you stick to the tree".

"Alright buddy," he chuckled, "let me help you out a little. You need to apply the perfect amount of chakra in order to stick to the tree: too little and you fall off, too much and you break the tree bark. This requires a lot of focus so try to clear your mind and concentrate your chakra to your feet. I know that you're frustrated but this is an extremely important skill. If you master chakra control then you can theoretically master any jutsu. Besides, it took _me_ a few days to get this right."

Yahiko just nodded and resumed training.

They trained really hard for two hours longer than they had planned, mostly because Yahiko refused to stop. He had made a lot of progress, but he still hadn't made it to the top of the trees yet.

As soon as Yahiko caught his breath, he decided that he was going to ask Naruto if he could finally take Link out of the forest.

"Naruto, Link always tries to follow me when we leave, and I feel safe when I'm next to him. He looks out for me and I look out for him. I really want to take Link back home with us."

Naruto however was adamant about keeping Link within the safety of the glade.

"It's just not a good idea Yahiko,' Naruto explained. "If any of the villagers saw Link, they would try to kill him. He's much safer in the forest."

"I guess so," Yahiko said with a small pout. "I just really wish we could play together back home."

After that they left but neither of the two humans noticed the small black shadow that started to follow 30 seconds later.

oooOooo

Everyone had been waiting in the Uchiha mansion for hours and they were all incredibly bored. Kiba kept threatening to leave and Shikamaru had fallen asleep. Finally, Akamaru barked a few times and Kiba announced that Naruto and Yahiko (they had figured out his name from Tsunade) were on the way. Everyone masked their chakra and hid behind the furniture and in the shadows.

---.---

Back at the gates, Naruto and Yahiko were just walking up the main path to the Uchiha Mansion. Naruto had noticed something was wrong as soon as he'd entered the gates, but he recognized the scents and chakra signatures of most of his friends.

'I guess they're having a welcoming party for Yahiko,' he thought. "That's nice of them but I wish they'd have told me about it first. I'm not sure if Yahiko is ready for this kind of thing.'

Naruto led Yahiko to the front door and prepared himself for some damage control. He was sure that Yahiko would be really nervous in front of so many shinobi and one little incident could set him off.

As soon as Naruto opened the door, disaster occurred. Everyone materialized into view the way only ninjas can, and before they could yell "surprise" Yahiko went white as a sheet and ran away.

"You guys should have told me about this," Naruto explained. "He's really shy and afraid of other people right now. If you wanted to meet him, I would have introduced you to him one by one."

Sakura started to apologize.

"Naruto, I..."

"It's OK," Naruto interrupted. "I just need to go talk to him and calm him down. I'll bring him back if I can but if not I'm going to have to ask all of you to leave."

With that, Naruto disappeared to chase after Yahiko.

---.---

Yahiko was scared out of his mind.

'They all came out of nowhere and I didn't sense them at all. I couldn't even detect that huge dog.'

When Yahiko paused to collect his thoughts, Naruto was able to find him. There was a slight moment of panic when Yahiko thought that Itachi was chasing after him, but when he realized that it was Naruto he relaxed.

"Hey buddy why'd you decide to run?" Naruto asked. "The party was for you."

"I'm not good with crowds, especially ninja crowds," Yahiko explained with watery eyes. "It… it reminds me of _him_."

Yahiko continued as tears fell silently from his cheeks.

"When he abandoned me, no one would help me. He killed people and did other horrible things there. The villagers would get together in groups sometimes and try to hurt me and even though I'd get away a lot sometimes they'd trap me."

He pulled Naruto into a hug again and started to sob.

"Oh Dad, it was horrible."

As soon as he realized what he just said, Yahiko held his breath. He didn't know how Naruto would react. Naruto felt the boy in his arms cringe and decided to assure him that everything was alright.

"Don't worry buddy. You won't ever be helpless again. And Yahiko?

The boy looked up from Naruto's soaked shirt.

'He's never called me by my name before,' the young boy thought. 'Something important must be happening.'

Naruto's eyes started to tear as he too became overcome with emotion.

"I would be honored to have you as my son."

They held each other tightly for many minutes: The boy thought about how lucky he was and how safe he felt under the protection of the man who was more of a father and more of a family to him in these last weeks than anyone had ever been in his entire life, while the young man thought about the family he never experienced and the chance he now had to make sure that the same thing didn't happen to the child he considered his own.

'I wonder if this is what Sasuke thought about when he dreamed about starting a family after killing Itachi,' Naruto wondered, 'It feels real… nice.'

After a while, Yahiko fell asleep as the emotional and physical drains of the day finally took their toll. Naruto didn't have the heart to wake him, so he muttered a quick wilderness survival jutsu to keep them warm and dry and prepared himself for sleep.

Link found them an hour later lying in the woods. He snuggled in between the two humans and quickly fell asleep. The three of them huddled together for warmth and comfort the rest of the night.

oooOooo

Sasuke got into the village without much trouble. He entered Konoha under the cover of darkness, and he would have gotten in without a hitch if Konohamaru hadn't of been in charge of wall duty that night. The leader of the "Konohamaru Corps" had grown up and was very similar to his grandfather. Sasuke had even heard rumors that Konohamaru had managed to achieve the Monkey King summoning.

The younger shinobi almost sensed Sasuke, but after a few moments, the Uchiha heir was able to enter undetected.

---.---

The estates were in better condition than he would have thought. It was clear that someone was taking good care of his house but they weren't home right now. He nodded in satisfaction: it would make his task easier.

Sasuke snuck in and visited his family's shrine. He paid his respects to the dead and formally mourned for his wife and son for the first time. It was a difficult experience but there was a sense of comfort in the process. He'd visited the shrine weekly before he left Konoha, and he knew that both his families- the new and the old, appreciated his efforts. When he finished, Sasuke prepared to leave as quickly as possible.

It was right before he passed the kitchen that he noticed it. The smell of cooked ramen was in the air. He'd grown accustomed to it after living with Danah, and he only knew of one other person in Konoha that ate that much ramen.

'I'm going to check, just to make sure,' he assured himself, 'just a look to see if it's him.'

Sure enough, Naruto was the caretaker of the Uchiha Estates. Although the rest of the house was clean, the master bedroom was a mess. Naruto still had that silly nightcap and there was still a picture of Team 7 on the dresser, but it was the picture next to team 7 that caught his attention.

On one side of there was a 'new' team 7 picture that included the new Shinobi Sai. The other side however was a picture of Naruto with a small boy no older than his son would have been.

'He looks a lot like I did when I was young, except for that smile. Does this kid have a past like Naruto's or mine? Is Naruto the reason he smiles just like me? I'd like to meet him, some day.'

Sasuke left, but for some reason the image of that boy staying with Naruto was burned into his mind. He kept thinking about his son and how life would have been different if he had been alive.

oooOooo

Shortly after Sasuke left Konoha, a shadow observed the three figures gently sleeping in the woods. Anger flashed in his eyes and plans were put into motion. Something would have to be done.

---.---

Naruto was the first one to wake up in the morning. He noticed Link, but decided not to mention him just yet.

'I'll let them sleep,' Naruto thought. 'Link seems extremely determined to spend a lot of time with Yahiko and I guess it'll be safer and easier if they do it with my help.'

After thinking about Link for a bit Naruto picked both sleeping kids up and walked back to the Uchiha Mansion.

---.---

Once again the next few days were spent establishing a routine. Naruto decided to take a week off from missions to introduce Yahiko to all of his friends. Although the boy liked everyone he really seemed to get along with Konohamaru and Kiba, probably because they were still kids at heart. He also seemed to really like talking to Shikamaru. The lazy jounin would always complain about "how troublesome" looking after Yahiko was but he'd never send the boy away when he visited or say no when Yahiko wanted to play a board game.

After a day of training and meeting with Konoha nins Yahiko would spend some time with Link and his siblings, and then he and Link would go back to sleep in Yahiko's room.

---.---

Link's whimpering woke him up in the middle of the night two weeks later. The small fox was shaking with fear and was currently poking his nose at Yahiko's face trying to wake him up faster. There was a sense of urgency in the air, and Yahiko woke very quickly. When Link saw that he was awake, he took Yahiko's hand in his mouth and started to lead him to the door.

'Something's wrong,' Yahiko thought. 'Link hasn't grabbed my hand like this since the first time I met him.'

As soon as Yahiko finished dressing Link yipped once urgently and led him out of the house. Yahiko chased after him but he had never seen his friend move so fast before. It seemed like the kit knew every shortcut through both the village and the forest. Yahiko was out of breath and he was having a hard time keeping up with the fox. Luckily he knew where Link was headed; the trail they had started on led towards the glade. A few minutes after losing sight of Link, Yahiko noticed something that scared him into finding another level of speed: there was smoke in the air.

oooOooo

The sounds were very quiet but Naruto was aware of them anyway. He was able to make out the distinct sounds of ninja gear being equipped in the half-awareness sleep all jounin possess. His subconscious brain registered the noises as Yahiko so he wasn't unduly worried. Perhaps he was going out for some extra chakra control training. Water walking had been giving the boy some extra trouble, and Yahiko had adopted Naruto's work ethic. It was the second sound that caught his attention: Link's single bark had been full of worry. The merge with Kyuubi allowed Naruto to communicate on a very basic level with foxes and the yip had conveyed urgency and also… fear. By the time Yahiko and Link ran out, Naruto was already dressed and checking their room. He found nothing out of the ordinary, but noticed their chakra signatures were heading into the forest. Naruto quickly created a shadow clone and sent it after them. He would go to Tsunade to make sure nothing was wrong.

oooOooo

Yahiko arrived at the glade and into chaos. The trees were burning and two Rain Nin were fighting with something next to the glade. When Yahiko moved closer, he noticed that the foreign shinobi were fighting two foxes. 'Sune and Link were fighting to protect their home and the broken bodies of Link's siblings were at the edge of the clearing. There was so much blood and the small kits had numerous needles pierced through their bodies.

At that moment, the nins jumped back from the fight and each flung two of the umbrellas they were carrying into the air. 'Sune knew what they were up to and flung Link towards Yahiko. She prepared to leap away but she was too late. Yahiko heard the Nins simultaneously yell "Jouro Senbon no Jutsu!" (1) and the sky rained needles. 'Sune desperately tried to dodge them, but there were just too many. She was pierced at least thirty times and collapsed with a yelp of agony. Link cried in pain and anger then struggled to gain his footing. His call attracted the attention of the closer of the two Rain Nin noticed this and threw two Senbon at the fox's rear legs causing Link to fall once again, unable to move.

The enemy nins prepared to advance and Yahiko readied himself to defend his first friend. Right before he charged, Yahiko saw a blur that could only have been Naruto intercept the two nins. Unfortunately for Naruto, it looked like they were prepared for him. A net shot out and snagged the Konoha shinobi in the air and the nins threw all of their remaining umbrellas in the air.

"Jouro Senbon no Jutsu!"

"Dad!" Yahiko screamed as the senbon struck.

He sighed in relief when the smoke cleared and the only thing within the net was the remains of a log.

'Kawarimi no Jutsu! I should have known. No one would get my Dad that way.'

Yahiko's eyes were starting to burn from the smoke but he could still see very clearly.

'Where is he?' he wondered.

Suddenly Yahiko spotted him: Naruto was up in the air ready to start his counterattack on the two nins, but they were ready for him once again.

"Fool!" one of them yelled, "Do you think that that was our last attack? Jouro Senbon no Jutsu!"

Another set of needles rained down on Naruto, but instead of piercing his flesh, there was a loud pop and Naruto disappeared in smoke.

"Quickly!" the other Rain Nin yelled, "Kill the fox and let's get out of here. The owner of that clone can't be far away!"

Yahiko drew a kunai and prepared to fight again.

'I will protect Link. Even if it costs me my life.'

His eyes were still burning, and he felt strangely calm.

'Is this what it feels like to prepare to die? I never thought that I would be able to face it so bravely. I hope you're proud of me, Dad.'

---.---

Naruto was seconds away when he felt the chakra increase that indicated the defeat of his clone and with it the knowledge of what was happening. Yahiko was falling into a trap. He was attacking two rain nin, **but there was one more behind him.**

"Yahiko!!!" he yelled out of pure desperation as he burst through the clearing, "Son!! Noooooo!"

He wasn't going to be fast enough. After all this time, he still wasn't powerful enough to save those that he cared for.

Yahiko heard Naruto's warning and started to turn, but it was too late. Naruto yelled inarticulately in anguish and all Yahiko caught was the flash of a kunai. Blood splattered the ground… and time seemed to stop.

TBC…

(1) Umbrella Senbon attack. See narutofan . com for full description.

OK. I know that was evil. But I promise that I will try to get the next chapter out within a few days.

Next time: The conclusion of the battle and the start of a journey (no cliffhanger though).

I've also decided to restart the e-mail alert list I have for Our Progeny. If you would like to be added to it, please send me an e-mail or leave a review.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Warning: This fic will eventually contain shonen ai and possibly yaoi. SasuNaru NaruSasu past SasuOC (barely mentioned) R rated violence as well. There is also one major OC and a few minor OCs in the future.

This chapter has a lemon in it. I can't post it on Fanfiction so I've uploaded all the chapters to adultfanfiction . net. It'll be under the same name there.

Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Flames will be ignored.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter. I will try to respond to the longer reviews with e-mails. My apologies if I skipped you by accident.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

"Telepathy"

_Flashback_

_**Dreamscape**_

---.---: break/ time lapse

oooOooo: Scene change

Our Progeny

Summary: Set 5 years in the future. Naruto comes across a young boy while on a mission and takes him in. Who is this boy and what does he have to do with Naruto and Sasuke?

---.---

_Yahiko heard Naruto's warning and started to turn, but it was too late. Naruto yelled inarticulately in anguish and all Yahiko caught was the flash of a kunai. Blood splattered the ground… and time seemed to stop._

---.---

Yahiko slowly opened his eyes after the burst of pain he was expecting failed to come. After piecing together what happened, tears formed in his eyes and the burning feeling seemed to increase. 'Sune was impaled on the third Rain Nin's kunai. Link had thrown himself in front of Yahiko in order to protect him and at the last second, 'Sune must have summoned up enough strength to save her kit.

Naruto flew towards Yahiko and ripped his hand straight through the enemy shinobi's back. The other two shinobi fled in terror and when Naruto looked up his eyes were cold: he had never been this furious in his entire life.

'Those nin will pay for what they did,' he thought.

The blonde shinobi bit his thumb, performed a quick series of hand seals, firmly planted his hand on the ground and a four foot orange frog appeared under him in a burst of chakra and smoke.

"What are your orders boss?" the frog asked.

"Find them Gamakichi (1)," he ordered, "engage them but don't kill them. I want them alive."

Gamakichi nodded and swiftly jumped away to pursue the enemy shinobi.

Naruto then turned to Yahiko to make sure he was alright.

"Oh god Yahiko, I thought that you were dead," Naruto exclaimed. "Are you OK?"

Yahiko looked fine but he didn't answer. He was holding Link, who hadn't been able to escape injury. There was a deep gash in the kit's chest and there was pink foam in the young fox's mouth. His lung had been pierced.

"Is he gonna be OK?" Yahiko asked quietly.

Naruto could only shake his head.

"He's… he's dying isn't he?"

"I think so," Naruto said, "There isn't anything we can do."

Yahiko looked down at Link sadly. His eyes still burnt from the smoke, but there were no tears.

Link opened his eyes and looked up into Yahiko's face. The fox knew that he was dying, and he let out a soft whine.

"It's OK little guy," Yahiko whispered, "I'm here. You'll be fine."

Naruto looked on silently. He was about to offer some consoling words when his sight went red and he _saw_ a solution.

"**I can save him son**," he said slowly, "**but I'm going to need your help**."

Yahiko looked up with hope and a bit of fear in his eyes as a pure red chakra suddenly emitted from Naruto's body and enveloped all three of them. Naruto took a kunai, cut his wrist and let his blood spiral out towards Link. The blood glowed with red chakra as it flowed into Link's wound and Naruto handed the kunai to Yahiko and spoke again.

"**Cut a line across your palm and seal the wound. Once it is sealed, you will be bonded. He will draw strength from you and you from him**."

Without any hesitation Yahiko slashed his right palm and pressed in on top of Link's already healing wound. There was a flash of chakra and Yahiko felt an immense amount of energy surge through his body. His eyes seemed to _focus_ but his gaze was on Link. The kit's eyes were closed but he looked very relaxed.

The last thing Yahiko heard before he passed out was a faint "Thank you."

When Naruto gained back control over his body he deactivated the chakra supporting them all and quickly caught Yahiko and Link before they fell to the ground.

'What the hell just happened?' he wondered, 'I didn't know I could do that.'

Naruto ran home and summoned a frog to fetch Tsunade. He wanted to make sure Yahiko and Link were alright and he only wanted one person to check on them.

When Tsunade arrived she examined them and explained their condition to Naruto.

"They'll be fine. Yahiko has chakra exhaustion and I think the fox is in a similar condition. They'll be all right after a day of rest."

"Good," Naruto said. "What about those Rain Nin?"

"Gamakichi was able to delay them until the ANBU could capture them. It seems like a villager hired them to kill that fox family."

"Baa-chan," Naruto warned, "I won't be held responsible for the fates of anyone that tries to hurt Link in the future. He's a member of my family now, and I won't stand for it."

"I know brat. I've already sent a message to the Rain Village explaining that the mission is cancelled, and I'm going to have it announced that any action against you or any of your family will be severely punished."

Tsunade left Naruto in the room with Yahiko. Link was lying at Yahiko's feet, and an IV was attached to both of the patients. The blonde watched over them for hours making sure they were alright until finally, in the dead of the night Naruto drifted into a restless dream-filled sleep.

---.---

_**He's at the glade again. Everything is burning and Yahiko is in the same position as before. The kunai flashes but this time there is no one to save him. Yahiko's screams are added to his, and suddenly everything blurs.**_

_**SHIFT**_

_**The scene appears again. This time Naruto is closer and there is a chance that he might save his son. The kunai flashes again but everything Naruto does is in slow motion. Just like before, he's too late and Yahiko dies.**_

_**SHIFT**_

_**It's similar to the first dream this time. He's at the proper distance and he's moving at the proper speed. Everything happens just like he remembers it but he still screams in anguish when the kunai flashes. He blinks and sees 'Sune and Link dive forward to protect his son. The rest is a fast forward blur up until the final stages of the bond. After it is completed, Yahiko raises his head to lock eyes with his dad. The red eyes are a brilliant contrast to the whites and grays of the dream and once more, everything**_

_**SHIFTS.**_

---.---

Naruto woke up in a cold sweat. He franticly scanned the room searching for Yahiko until he saw him safe and sound curled up protectively around Link. After breathing a sigh of relief, he tried to remember the nightmare.

Most of the dream was fading but he remembered that it had to do with the fight in the woods. After a few moments, there was only one shocking image left in his mind.

Yahiko's dark red Sharingan eyes staring back at him after the bonding.

'Was it a dream?' Naruto wondered, 'Did I see the Sharingan? Is Yahiko really an Uchiha?'

There would be no more sleep for Naruto that night. His mind was filled with questions and speculations on Yahiko and occasionally, Sasuke.

---.---

Yahiko was pulled from sleep by a cold nose.

"Leave me alone Link," he said, "I'm still tired."

He turned around, pulled the covers over his head and tried to go back to sleep.

"Hungry."

"Hm? Who said that?" Yahiko asked.

The boy pulled the cover off of his eyes and scanned the room.

"I."

Yahiko looked down the bed and locked eyes with the small fox.

"You?"

"Yes."

"Does this work both ways?"

"Bond."

"Oh."

Yahiko decided to try something.

"Does it work both ways?"

"Works."

"Well OK. Let's get some food then."

Naruto was nursing a large mug of coffee in the kitchen when they arrived downstairs.

"What exactly happened last night Dad?" Yahiko asked after he joined his dad.

"To you and Link?" Naruto replied, "I'm not sure, all I know is that some instinct took over and a power of Kyuubi manifested itself. I think that the bond you share will make you just as close as Kiba and Akamaru. There may be other side effects but I'm not sure what they could be."

"Well, Link and I can talk to each other now. I can hear his thoughts and he can hear mine."

"You talk to each other? What did he say?"

"Well, he doesn't really doesn't speak in sentences, but I get ideas and words from him. He woke me up and said he was hungry."

"There's some steak in the fridge, you can give him that. What do you want for breakfast? I haven't eaten yet either."

"Cereal is fine Dad, is the milk still good?"

Naruto shrugged while Yahiko went to check. The boy poured himself some cereal and prepared the steak for Link. Naruto then got his own cereal and they sat down to eat. After a few minutes of catching worried glances from his father, Yahiko decided to say something.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Are you mad at me?"

"I'm not mad at all." Naruto exclaimed.

He gave Yahiko a smile so the boy knew he meant it but the blonde's mood sobered as he looked down and played with his cereal.

"But… I almost lost you. Do you know that you almost died? Tsunade said that you would be fine, just tired for a while because you used up almost all of your chakra but I need to know. Are you OK?"

"I'm okay, just a little tired I guess," Yahiko said. "I think I can resume training tomorrow."

"Well, I have to do a few errands but I want Hinata to give you a checkup later. Make sure you and Link get enough rest today, alright?"

After that, Naruto put on his jounin uniform and left. Thirty seconds later, Naruto burst through the door again.

"Forgot something," he stated.

Yahiko nodded absently and got up.

"What did you forget?" he asked.

Naruto responded by pulling Yahiko into a hug and ruffling his hair.

"I love you son," he said while smiling down at the small boy.

Yahiko barely had time to say "I love you too" before Naruto disappeared once again.

oooOooo

The only important event to occur over the next few days was Yahiko's physical. Hinata, like most of the rookie nine had changed: Her training under Tsunade and with Neji had given her confidence and she had even worked up the courage to ask Naruto out a few years ago. Naruto was surprised but he had accepted and took Hinata out to eat and watch a play.

It went well but after the date, Hinata and Naruto realized that although they cared for each other, they loved each other like a brother and sister. Hinata moved on and Kiba moved in. Things were going well, and Naruto expected Kiba to propose any day now. In fact, if that ring on Hinata's finger was any indication then he already had.

"Naruto-kun," she stated after she had examined Yahiko (and after the boy's insistence, Link as well), "Yahiko has a few peculiar chakra characteristics. It seems that his chakra is very similar to Link's. In fact, it's as if they were the same person. Their chakra coils are almost identical."

"Well," Naruto explained, "they bonded in a weird ceremony that had to do with Kyuubi. I don't know what it did but their chakras mixed and I healed Link with my blood."

"There's another thing… do you know who Yahiko's parents are?"

"No, is something wrong?"

"It's nothing serious, just that I took a blood sample, and he has an advanced bloodline. I've never seen it before (2), so I can't identify it. Has he manifested any special powers?"

"No, he hasn't," Naruto cautiously replied, "I have my own suspicions but I don't want to say anything. Thank you Hinata-chan."

Hinata went home and Naruto was left with his thoughts about Yahiko.

'Was he really Itachi's son or someone else's? Could it be Sasuke?'

'Do I really want to know?'

He shook his head and pushed those thoughts out of his mind.

"Come on son, let's go get some ramen."

---.---

Naruto spent the next few months training, teaching Yahiko, completing missions, and occasionally looking for Sasuke. He refused to think about the conversation with Hinata and so far, Yahiko hadn't manifested the Sharingan even with the extra training Kiba and Akamaru gave him in order to learn how to fight with Link.

The months blurred, and all of a sudden it was May again.

oooOooo

'It's been more than a year since Yahiko has been in my life,' Naruto thought, 'and I can't imagine life without him. His birthday is coming up as well and I want to make it a memorable one. I forgot last year but this year I'll make it up to him. I don't think Yahiko's ever had a birthday party.'

The first part of Naruto's plan got Yahiko out of the house. He convinced Konohamaru to take a level D mission and let Yahiko and Link tag along. Next, he set everything up himself and waited for the guests. When everyone had arrived, Naruto went to pick Yahiko up and bring him home.

Living with Naruto the past year had caused the boy's personality to change a bit and he was less introverted and timid. Link had changed a lot as well. The small fox could speak in full sentences now, and Naruto was able to hear his son's best friend when he "thought" directly at him. It didn't work with anyone else but Naruto guessed it was a latent power of the Kyuubi and a manifestation of the bond.

"Dad, my first mission was awesome!!" Yahiko stated as soon as Naruto met him outside the Hokage Tower. "It was just like one you had to do when you were a genin! We had to find the cat of the Fire Lady named Tiger II. Link was able find him really fast but when we caught the cat, he went crazy. Uncle Konohamaru got all scratched up. I tried to help, but I got scratched on the face, see?"

Yahiko pointed to a band aid on his cheek.

"Link got really mad when I got hurt. He growled at Tiger II, and the cat didn't give us any problems the rest of the mission."

"That fur ball hurt Yahiko," Link elaborated with a growl "I told him that I'd bite off his tail if he touched another hair on my brother's head."

"OK, let's go home," Naruto said with a chuckle, "You guys can wash up and afterwards, we'll go get ramen ok?"

Yahiko sprinted as fast as he could towards the Uchiha mansion and Naruto used his full speed in order to arrive before the boy discovered his surprise party.

oooOooo

The surprise went over much better this time around. Yahiko was unprepared for a further celebration because Naruto had made it seem like the mission with Konohamaru was the only present he would receive.

'My birthdays have never been a big deal,' Yahiko thought as he looked at all of the food and decorations, 'I never even dreamed of a party.'

The small now seven year old boy ran to his father and gave him a huge hug.

"Happy birthday, son," Naruto said as he ruffled his hair, "Why don't we eat now? I got Ichiraku to cater for us."

After eating, Yahiko opened his presents. Most of the gifts were normal ninja gifts: kunai, senbon, smoke bombs, etc. but there were quite a few free ramen passes as well. Jiraiya gave him a frog wallet, Shikamaru gave him a Go set, and Kakashi gave him a matching set of fox pajamas and a night cap.

Naruto was the last person to give Yahiko his gift. He handed him a simple medium sized box with a brown paper wrapping. Yahiko quickly ripped it open and pulled out the item wrapped in packaging paper.

Naruto had traveled to the Grass Country in order to request a custom item for his son. It was a dark blue leather jacket that looked very similar to Naruto's old outfit. There was an orange Uzumaki spiral on the back and another on the upper sleeve. Chakra was infused in the jacket during production, and it offered as much protection as normal ANBU body armor. Naruto however, didn't tell anyone about that. He just wanted his son to have some extra protection.

Yahiko looked up at Naruto curiously after he finished examining his gift.

"I had one like it when I was a kid," Naruto explained.

Yahiko suddenly remembered the tattered orange jacket Naruto had let him wear the first time he visited Link.

'I really like this jacket,' Yahiko thought, 'it's another connection that I have with Dad.'

He put it on and from that point on he was never seen without it.

The rest of the party went well but as soon as Yahiko fell asleep, Naruto ended it and put his son to bed. After seeing everyone else off, he went to sleep as well.

oooOooo

_**He was training with Sasuke, just like they used to but… something was different. He shifted a bit of his attention away from the fight in order to search for it but he didn't notice anything that was blatantly wrong. Naruto decided that he needed a higher perspective so he jumped up to bring the fight on to the branches of the trees. He paused to scan his surroundings, and he saw it- Yahiko was sitting at the edge of the clearing watching them both. Naruto was too shocked to pay attention to anything else and was knocked back into reality when Sasuke's fist hit him in the stomach.**_

"_**What the heck just happened?" Sasuke asked after the fight ended with a kunai to Naruto's throat. "You lost your focus, dobe. Are you okay?"**_

_**There was something in Sasuke's voice that Naruto didn't recognize. Just a hint of something… different in his tone.**_

"_**I'm… fine Sasuke," Naruto answered, "but don't call me dobe, you teme."**_

"_**Why don't we stop training now?" Sasuke suggested, "We'll get some ramen and go home."**_

_**Although the mention of ramen piqued Naruto's interest, he was still a little discombobulated. While he was glad that Sasuke was back he was also still a little confused. Luckily, Yahiko provided the distraction Naruto needed.**_

"_**Ramen?" Yahiko asked as he popped in between the two older nin, "Are we gonna go now? I'm really hungry and I bet I can eat more than you can Dad. I know I can eat more ramen than you, Father."**_

_**Sasuke laughed, picked Yahiko up and gave him a noogie.**_

"_**Yeah buddy, we're going to get ramen at Ichiraku."**_

_**Yahiko's loud yell of happiness echoed through the forest but Naruto hardly registered it. He was still in shock.**_

'_**Sasuke actually laughed? But… he NEVER laughs. I've only ever seen him smile a few times, and I wasn't certain if they were smirks or real smiles. It's like we're a family. It feels… nice.'**_

_**After going through his inner dialogue Naruto ran and caught up to Sasuke and Yahiko. They went to Ichiraku and actually had a fantastic time. Sasuke, who was usually incredibly awkward with kids, got along really well with Yahiko and Yahiko really seemed to like the dark haired nin. Naruto and Sasuke still argued but there was something different about their name calling this time. Sasuke still had that weird tone in his voice and Naruto didn't feel like they were as serious about it as usual.**_

_**Finally, Yahiko's light snores signaled that it was time for them to leave. He was lying across two chairs fast asleep with Link tucked in his jacket. However, before Naruto could pick him up Sasuke beat him to it. Naruto was lost in his own thoughts and Sasuke was seriously set in his task to not wake Yahiko or Link so the walk back was quiet. When they finally arrived at the Uchiha manor, Sasuke broke the silence.**_

"_**Naruto, you look tired. You go to bed and I'll put Yahiko to sleep."**_

"_**OK," Naruto said with a yawn. Now that Sasuke mentioned it he did feel a little tired.**_

_**Sasuke walked into Yahiko's room and Naruto entered his own bedroom. After wearily stripping to his boxers, Naruto flopped on the bed and thought about the recent events.**_

'_**What happened? I feel happy but I'm so confused. When did Sasuke come back? Why does his voice sound strange? Why does Yahiko trust him? I'm just gonna sleep on it. Maybe everything will be clearer in the morning.'**_

_**Just as Naruto closed his eyes, he felt a sudden presence in his room and a weight on the bed.**_

"_**Sasuke, what are you doing?" he asked.**_

"_**I'm waking you up," Sasuke answered with a smirk.**_

_**LEMON. Go to adultfanfiction dot net or check the link in my profile.**_

_**All he saw was white, and everything faded out…**_

oooOooo

Naruto woke up, sweaty and wrapped crazily in his blankets. His first thought was that he had a nightmare but when he realized that his boxers were _really_ sticky his dream came back to him.

'What just happened?" he thought, "I can't believe I had a dream like _that_ about Sasuke. Does this mean that I'm… gay?"

Naruto spent the rest of the night deep in thought about Sasuke and how he felt about him. He wasn't able to come any conclusions but he did have one recurring thought:

'I have to find Sasuke.'

oooOooo

Somewhere out in the wilderness, Sasuke also woke up. He too thought that he might have had a nightmare but he wasn't sweating or breathing hard. All he remembered of his dream was that he was with his family: His son was alive and he was happy. It was fading and his thoughts soon centered on Naruto and the boy under his care.

Sasuke stayed up thinking about Naruto and his son and finally came to a conclusion:

'I have to meet that boy.'

oooOooo

Silently and almost simultaneously, both nins began mentally preparing for a journey.

TBC…

(1) Gamakichi has grown over the last few years.

(2) Hinata can use her Byakugan to examine blood samples.

Next time: The journey. If anyone has any suggestions, then feel free to voice them. I'll incorporate the ones I like when I can.


End file.
